Garden Suburb Infant School

Food and Drink in School

School Meals

School Lunch: At Garden Suburb Infant School we are committed to providing a healthy mid day meal for our children. We follow tough minimum nutrition standards which you can view at www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk. ISS Catering - Barnet, who provide our meals, have been awarded the Soil Association Food for Life Silver Catering Mark. On their website you can find the current menus, links to the Silver Catering Mark information and there is also a place for parent feedback/questions.

All children are entitled to a free hot lunch in school every day and there are always two options, vegetarian and non-vegetarian, together with a varied salad bar, dessert, fruit or cheese and biscuits. Children can also have a cup of milk.

All of our school meals are “home cooked” daily in our own kitchen on site, using fresh ingredients. The meals are well balanced and designed to meet the nutritional needs of growing children. No nut or pork products are used.

Menus are on a 3 week cycle and can be downloaded from this page or through the Feeding Hungry Minds website detailed above. They are also available from the lobby. We ask parents to inform the school if their child has any specific dietary requirement.

Packed Lunch: Children can also bring in a packed lunch from home which is also eaten in the dining hall with their year group. This will normally consist of a sandwich, piece of fruit and/or yoghurt. Please do not send in 'treats' in the form of sweets or chocolate bars and remember our policy on being a 'nut aware' school.

Children changing from school meals to packed lunches, or vice versa, should give the school a half week's notice in writing - forms are available in the entrance hall, alternatively email the school office or send a letter in with your child. Please note that children can only change once in a half term period.

Lunchtime Supervision: Nine Mealtime Supervisors look after the children in the playground and when they are eating lunch. The Supervisors encourage the children to eat well but do not force them to eat. If they notice that a child is not eating, they will inform the class teacher who will then be able to talk to the parent.

School Milk - Reception Year

Children under the age of 5 are entitled to daily semi skimmed milk free of charge.

A company called Coolmilk can provide milk for the Reception Year children but it will only be provided if parents would like their children to receive it.

milk is available free of charge for children under 5 years old

subsidised milk can be provided for children over 5 years old (approx. 22p per day).

If you would like your child to receive a small carton of semi skimmed milk each day you will need to register with Coolmilk,even if they are under 5 years old.

This can be done by asking the office for a form to complete then posting it direct to Coolmilk at the freepost address on the form. You can also register online at www.coolmilk.com

Free milk will be provided for registered children until the Friday before their 5th birthday. You will receive a payment request 3 weeks before their birthday. If you want your child to carry on receiving milk after their 5th birthday, just make a payment. If you do not want them to have milk after their 5th birthday, you don't need to do anything, it will automatically stop.

Full details are on the form or online at the Coolmilk website www.coolmilk.com.

Snack & Water

Children are also provided with a daily mid-morning snack of a piece of fruit. No other snack is needed.

Please send your child in to school with a water bottle each day. This should be no bigger than 300ml and should be labelled with your's child's name. Suitable bottles can be purchased from the school office. Water is freely available in classrooms and throughout the school.

There is no reason for a child to bring in any other food or drink into school. Please see the section under Assemblies and Birthday Celebrations for details of alternatives to "treats".